The Netherlands is expanding the number of licensed cannabis suppliers that are allowed to sell products to the country’s famous “coffee shops” that offer patrons marijuana.
According to the Associated Press, the European Union country is expanding its government-run initiative to 10 municipalities that can sell cannabis from 10 licensed cultivators.
Among the licensed cultivators participating in the program is Village Farms International, which has offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Lake Mary, Florida.
Before the allowances took effect, up to 80 coffee shops in 10 Dutch cities were able to acquire cannabis from only three licensed suppliers enrolled in the country’s “wietexperiment,” a historic trial with a licensed supply chain.
The expansion also carried a mandate that, beginning April 7, all coffee shops enrolled in the program can sell only regulated and tracked cannabis, StratCann reported.
After several delays, the pilot program launched in December 2023 in the cities of Breda and Tilburg, where about 19 participating coffee shops began offering both legally grown cannabis and unregulated products.
While home grows remain illegal in the Netherlands, the program allows cannabis cultivators to operate legally for the first time.
For decades, the country’s cannabis stores – also called coffee shops – operated in a system where sales of the drug were legally tolerated while cultivation remained illegal, meaning stores had to procure illicit marijuana products to sell quasi-legally.
Cannabis products allowed in the experiment include:
- Dried flower
- Edibles
- Hashish
- Pre-rolls
Amsterdam, the country’s largest city, was denied participation in the experiment.
